3/20/2009 @ 4:00PM

Ten Great Unfiltered, Unfined Wines to Try

If you spend time in good wine shops, you’ve undoubtedly seen the terms “unfiltered” and “unfined” on wine labels here and there. Innocuous as the terms may seem, be careful what you wish for if you ask what they mean. The subject always elicits very strong opinions from winemakers and wine-shop employees alike.

Many argue that wines that have been fined or filtered have less character. But both processes are common, long-used practices that remove sediment, yeast and bacteria from wines before they’re bottled. In other words, the reason a wine looks bright and clear is often because the winery cleaned it up.

Plenty of people believe so–that looks don’t matter, only aromas and flavors do, and that fining and filtering strip them away. The proverbial jury won’t return a verdict on this anytime soon, however, so to find out which camp you fall in, you just have to try the wines for yourself and see which you prefer.

Where to Begin

Start with chardonnay, which many wine drinkers believe is at its best when it’s been fiddled with the least. If you haven’t tried unfiltered chardonnays, sample the Dehlinger Unfiltered Russian River Valley and the Saintsbury Carneros. Both are delicious, but expect them both to be richer and fuller-bodied than other chardonnays you might have had in the past.

For some California wineries, it’s never been a question which way to go. Renowned winemaker Paul Hobbs, who makes wines for clients in the U.S., Argentina and Chile, has long been an advocate of unfined, unfiltered wines–especially chardonnay. Same goes for Newton, which doesn’t filter any of its wines. And some even take things a step further.

Famed Sonoma pinot noir maker Williams-Selyem has always made unfiltered wines, such as its 2006 Hirsch Vineyard pinot. But the company’s philosophy, “Respect the juice,” extends all the way to eschewing pumps to move wine between tanks and barrels–they use gravity.

But are all these “hands-off” wines better? Not if you ask some winemakers across the Atlantic.

Look to the relative king of wine regions, Bordeaux, and you’ll find that winemakers there would rather have their wines, particularly whites, as clear and sediment-free as possible. And they don’t believe that the flavor or mouth feel are affected negatively by fining or filtering.

“You get the interventionists versus the non-interventionists,” says Robin Kelley O’Connor, director of sales and education at New York wine retailer Sherry-Lehmann, adding that red wines are often filtered as well. “The French believe that their merlots and cabernets really need filtering.”

The new twist in the discussion is whether fined wines can cause allergic reactions. Winemakers have a range of food products they can use to clarify wines, such as egg whites, gelatin and even isinglass (a fish product). But many people who are allergic to these foods believe they’re not removed completely from the finished wines, and therefore a warning should appear on the bottle label.

The Food and Drug Administration is considering the idea. Wines produced in Australia and New Zealand already carry those warnings on their wine labels.

But winemakers who do fine their wines argue that there has never been significant medical evidence to indicate that the minute levels of those allergens–if they’re present at all–are even remotely dangerous. There’s even scant evidence to suggest that the levels of sulfites, a preservative in wines, has any impact on a wine drinker’s health. Some people claim they get headaches from certain wines (usually reds), but it’s usually the case that headaches result from drinking too much wine, not certain types.

Is it worth trying and enjoying unfined and unfiltered wines? Yes, especially if you feel what you drink most of the time is short on flavor or character and you’re looking for something richer and more nuanced. Unfined, unfiltered wines might be just the thing you’re looking for.

Just keep in mind, there’s no evidence that these wines are better tasting or healthier. But if you get a sense of one or the other after drinking them, all the better.